Kazakhstan Accuses Former Official of Misusing Power, Laundering Funds

The Kazakh General Prosecutor’s Office has launched a pre-trial investigation into Kairat Kozhamzharov, the former head of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs and Anti-Corruption, over allegations of abuse of office and money laundering.

Kozhamzharov is suspected of exceeding official authority and legalizing illicit funds during various periods of his service in high-level government positions, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

Special investigative teams, led by prosecutors with special authority, have been formed to oversee the probe.

The Prosecutor’s Office added that, under Article 201 of the Criminal Procedure Code, no further information can be disclosed at this stage of the investigation.

Kairat Kozhamzharov, aged 60, was born in Zhambyl (now Taraz) and earned a law degree from Leningrad State University in 1987, where he studied alongside former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

He began his career in the Prosecutor’s Office, later holding senior roles in the Tax and Financial Police, and eventually rising to become one of Kazakhstan’s top anti-corruption officials. Over his career, he has held numerous influential positions, including:

Chairman of the Financial Police (2008-2012)

Governor of Akmola Region (2012-2013)

Presidential Assistant and Secretary of the Security Council (2013-2014)

Chairman of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs and Anti-Corruption (2014-2015)

Head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (2015-2016)

Prosecutor General of Kazakhstan (2017-2019)

From 2019 to early 2023, he served as a Senator in the upper house of Kazakhstan’s Parliament.

The investigation is ongoing.